What if Darlene and David never got back together after they broke up in Chicago? What if David was never allowed to come back and live with the Conners again? How would that have changed things? CHAPTER 18 IS UP NOW!

Disclaimer: Roseanne and all of it's characters are all property of Carsey-Werner. I own nothing. I am just borrowing for awhile but will return them in exactly the same condition when I'm finished.

Forbidden Love

Written By: SSJ God SS Juuhachi

New Year's Eve, 1993

New York was alive with the sounds of cheers. Thousand stood lining the streets of Time Square, completely overwhelmed with excitement, and anticipation, the hour drawing near now. Others, who were unable to take part in the whole experience of being there, spent the importance of this occasion in the company of family and friends as they drank cheap champagne and talked about their plans for the future. It brought an enormous feeling of hope and promise into their hearts at the prospect of being given another opportunity to start their lives over again. Making everything they have worked for up to this point even more worth it, they felt as did those who had spent hours in the frigid cold. A feeling of adrenaline began to pulsate in their veins while time ticked closer and they tried to come up with strict and realistic goals to accomplish in the approaching year. However, every holiday and special event has its ugly sides too and among those who celebrated this occasion and looked forward to it, were also those who did not. People who did not have any friends or family to share in the importance of this night with and were forced to spend it alone. Whether it was due to tragedy, or simply they just lived far away, it was clear they did not want to participate or be involved in the social act this evening held and sought to spend their time elsewhere in hopes of getting away from it all.

"We are only a few moments away now from witnessing the breath taking display of the ball dropping here at Time Square as we say farewell to 1993 and prepare to welcome 1994." A reporter on the T.V. spoke. His words escaping everyone sitting in the grim environment of a corner bar as sounds of overlapping conversations filled the room and the smell of booze and cigarettes hung heavily in the air. Meanwhile, a young girl, looking to be around her mid to late teens sat in the far corner of the room, completely separated from the other occupants. She ran a hand through her long dark curls, pushing them out of her face only to reveal her forlorn green eyes that seemed to glimmer underneath the dim light as she then took a drink from the glass of alcohol she had in her hand. Feeling the bitter liquid burn the back of her throat as she swallowed in the hopes that it would help ease her troubled mind and take away the problems she was currently going through. Although her efforts were all in vain, as no amount of liquor could erase what she had done and the unforgettable memories that continued to haunt her. Not allowing her to forget the foolish decisions she had made and the consequences that followed as a result.

A week had nearly passed since she had last seen or heard from her now former boyfriend. The two had been living together, prior to all of this, for the past three months. "What a mistake that was" She thought to herself. Back then, though, it seemed like the most logical solution to resolve the problems they were having in their relationship. Problems, which had honestly started even before she left for college. Both had applied for art schools in New York and Chicago a few months ago, only to receive letters in response sometime later. Though rejected by New York, she had gotten a letter from Chicago explaining that she was accepted. Unfortunately, for the two of them, he did not get into either one and pretended she was not either to avoid an awkward situation. However, he soon found out the truth about her deception shortly after and was both hurt and angry by her lying to him. Telling her that if, she left than he would break up with her and start seeing other people. Needless to say, she stayed, though it was more so for the reason of her own insecurities, really than it was about him. It was not until her mother, who had previous objections to the idea, convinced her to do it and not waste what might be a once in a lifetime opportunity, did she finally go.

Time passed and she had become quite happy were she was. Her boyfriend, on the other hand, was upset by this, because while he knew this was what she wanted, he couldn't help but hope she would be miserable and decide to come back home to him. However, seeing she was not had created a lot of unwanted tension and made things very strained and uncomfortable between them. So they decided to move in together, and though it seemed like a great idea at first, it did not take long before things started to turn sour again and they would often engage in intense arguments, sometimes over the most trivial of matters.

All of those though paled in comparison to the fateful night when he told her that she was the meanest person alive. Even though she knew there was some part of her that deserved it, she still felt that he had a lot of nerve saying what he did to her. After all, he didn't exactly make life easy living with him either. In fact, it was almost completely unbearable even being in the same room with him most of the time. He did not stop there though and went on to tell her that he did not love her anymore. Now, her older sister had said a lot of cruel and insensitive things to her in the past, and while that had hurt as well, it didn't even come close in comparison to the pain she felt at that moment. Hearing those words was like someone had taken a knife and plunged it into her chest and could feel the very life drain from her, her heart coming to stop. It was a harsh feeling and for the first time she was left unsure of what to say. She couldn't even come back with a witty and sarcastic retort which had always been her trademark and truly showed how deeply his words had affected her. Then, just as she thought things couldn't possibly get any worse, she opened the door only to be faced with her worst nightmare. Resting by the window, in a small recliner chair was her mother, who apparently had been waiting upon their return.

Upon first glance, one would never be able to see the anger that clearly radiated from the much larger woman. But having lived with her mother her entire life, she knew that inside was a raging storm that was threatening to break loose at any moment. They both knew they were in serious trouble and weren't about to receive any mercy. Her mother did not know mercy. She was antagonistic and took no prisoners when it came to telling people how she felt. And with what happened, she probably pushed her further than she ever had in the past with her deceit and in that moment she became like Rambo, minus the gun. Her thirst for blood needing to be quenched and unfortunately they were about to become the first of her victims. Also, there in the room was her brother in law. He did not say anything but she knew that he was the one responsible for what was happening. Clearly he told her mother what was going on and was the reason she was there, shredding the two into pieces. Then it happened. Her mother unleashed her fury on them like never before. And she had been on the receiving end many times with her mother and never in her whole life had seen so much anger come from her, while at the same time taking notice to the obvious hurt and disappointment which could clearly be shown in her dark eyes. The thought that she been deceived by her daughter, her own flesh and blood, someone she thought she could trust and always count on had been truly devastating to her she knew. It was the greatest injustice anyone could ever commit and made her feel guilty, especially after everything she had done for her.

She had given birth to her. Fed her and clothed her for the past 16 years of her life, taking care of her like any loving mother should. Not only that but she allowed her boyfriend to come and live with them after witnessing how verbally abusive his mother had been to him, not wanting him to suffer the same traumatic fate that she faced growing up. And after all of that, this was how she repaid her? It was not right and made her angry with herself. She, however, held an even deeper resentment for her boyfriend, the one truly responsible for this whole mess and who she felt finally expressed his true colors to her. She couldn't say that she was surprised though, the only person he ever thought about was himself. Looking back to when they first started dating he was always clingy, wanting to be with her all the time and just smothering her and as their relationship progressed so did his need to be closer to her. He began to pressure her into taking things to the next level and was a real asshole about it when she would not give in to his advances. But none of that mattered now. It was over and the best thing she could do was just move on.

"Can I get you another drink?" Her thoughts were then interrupted when a voice suddenly spoke. She turned her head and found a blonde-haired waitress there beside her. The woman was quite attractive, she appeared to be three, maybe four years older than she was and had crystal blue eyes that stared at her expectantly.

"What did you say?" The dark-haired teen replied, slightly embarrassed. The blonde repeated, giving a small laugh "Do you want another drink?"

"Oh." Was her only response as she then glanced down at the glass she held in her hand. "Uh, no, I think I'm finished." A smile crossed the other woman's face as she then asked, "Oh, all right. Do you want me to call you a cab or something?" The teen shook her head, "No, I'm fine." She managed to say, her words slurring slightly. " All right then, here is your bill. You can just pay it whenever you are ready." She placed a piece of paper on the table and walked away. Alone once more, the dark-haired woman, reached in her pocket and pulled out some money and threw down a few dollars to pay the tab, she even added a couple extra for a tip. Afterwards, she stood up from her chair and grabbed her coat.

Just as she began to put it on, everyone in the bar started to countdown. "10…9…8…7…6…" She took this as her cue to leave and headed towards the door but not before she stuffed the receipt in her pocket. As she walked outside, she was instantly met with the cold chill of the late night air, snow fall coming from the sky as she fought desperately to keep warm. "5…4…3…2…1…" An eruption of cheers and noise makers could be heard behind the closed door, causing her to shake her head in disgust at their joyous behavior before she then made her way down the street. Having consumed a generous amount of liquor had created the smallest of a buzz, but was still capable of getting herself home, at least in her opinion she was. Fortunately for her, the apartment she was currently occupying was only a couple blocks away so she didn't have too far to go.

Minutes went by and she had yet rounded another corner and there in there in the middle of the sidewalk was a homeless man begging for spare change. The dark-haired girl did not notice him nor did she acknowledge him when he rattled his cup he had in his hand a bit and asked her " Do you have any change?" Instead she just kept on walking and soon arrived at the apartment building where she lived and made her way on inside. The door that lead into her apartment creaked loudly as it slowly swung open. Light from the hallway streamed into the darkened room with only her silhouette framing the doorway. She stepped into the room, not bothering to turn on the lights as she closed the door gently behind and put her keys on the mantle of the fireplace. Removing her jacket, she threw it carelessly on the small recliner and glanced around the room briefly she turned towards her perfectly made bed. She sighed, she laid down gently on it. The alarm o'clock on her nightstand read 12:20 and she allowed her eyes to slide closed. Exhaustion taking over her body and pretty soon the only thing that could be heard was the sound of her soft breathing as she fell into a deep peaceful sleep.

AN:Well that's it for Chapter 1! Like it? Hate it? Tell me what you think!

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.